How to make large juice pouch notebooks

Since I needed to make large juice pouch notebooks for the teachers of the classrooms that recycle for me, I thought I would take pictures of the steps involved in making them.
Cleaning: 1. Cut a hole where the bottom of the pouch expands. Then proceed to clean it in the sink or in the top rack of the dishwasher. Let it air dry for at least 2 days (until it is completely dry on the inside).

2. Take the plastic straw holder off of the pouch. Remove any remaining plastic from where the straw was attached. Spray some Goo Gone on the pouch where the straw was attached. Let it set for a minute. Then wipe off the stickiness.



Materials need to make a large juice pouch notebook:
- Scissors
- paper (10 to 20 pages per notebook)
- exact o knife
- ruler
- surface to cut on
- 8 juice pouches that have been precleaned as instructed above
- sewing machine with a denim needle and thread (gray works great)

This is what I have my sewing machine set at. I find that the straight stitch seems to tear the pouches easily. I prefer to use the multi-hole zig zag stitch.








I use the lines that are already on the pouches as a guide so that I am always overlapping them the same every time. I like to sew 2 pouches side by side first.



Sew four sets of these to make one notebook.







Then over lap the bottom of one set with the top of another set. I use the top line of the pouch (where it is sealed and still one layer) as a guide when overlapping.




Next you sew the bottom of the 2 sets of 4 (the bottom of the front and back of the notebook).




The sewn group of juice pouches equals 7 inches by 10 inches.





You need to cut your paper so that it is 7" x 10". Cut up to 20 pages per notebook.




Sandwich the pages between the 2 sewn juice pouch panels.






Sew the layers together. I don't like to sew more than 20 pages with my machine, because I have had my needle break a few times on me in the past.



Now you have made yourself a 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" notebook made from recycled materials. You can sew this by hand. I recommend using a small hole punch to make the holes. Then you can use a tapestry needle and embroider thread to sew the layers together. I teach kids how to make the small notebooks that way (it uses only 2 juice pouches).